THE SOCIAL ISLAND

Gili Air

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Gili Air is the middle ground of the Gilis in every sense. More alive than Meno, more considered than Trawangan. Cafes and restaurants line the beachfront, bikes and horse carts are the only transport, and the reef snorkelling begins just steps from the shore. The sunsets facing Mount Agung across the Bali Sea are a daily event that people rearrange their evenings around. There is enough happening on Gili Air to keep you entertained for days, and enough quiet to remind you that you are, genuinely, on a small island in the middle of the ocean.

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• Reef snorkelling directly off the beach, sea turtles reliably spotted year-round

• Sunsets facing Mount Agung across the Bali Sea, a daily spectacle

• No motor vehicles on the island, bikes and horse carts only

• The most varied restaurant and cafe scene of the three islands

• Fast boat connections to Lombok and Bali making it an easy base

• PinkCoco Gili Air, adults-only, 30-metre lap pool, 9.8 on Booking.com

• Slow Private Pool Villas, consistently called the finest accommodation on the island

THE QUIET ISLAND
 

Gili Meno

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Gili Meno is the smallest and least developed of the three main Gilis, and that is entirely the point. The beaches are wide and largely empty. The turtle sanctuary on the eastern shore gives you a genuine reason to snorkel in the shallows. The lake in the middle of the island attracts birds that most visitors never notice. The pace here is not just slow, it is a different relationship with time altogether. People who come to Gili Meno expecting the energy of Gili Air leave disappointed. People who understand what it is leave describing it as one of the most restorative places they have ever been.

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• Turtle sanctuary on the eastern shore, snorkelling with sea turtles at close range

• The least developed and most peaceful of the three main Gili Islands

• Bask Gili Meno, design-led beach villas above a coral reef, snorkel gear included

• Seri Resort, adults-only beachfront with exceptional staff

• A salt lake in the island interior, a bird sanctuary that few visitors ever find

• Genuine stillness that becomes increasingly rare across the archipelago

THE SECRET ISLAND
 

Gili Asahan

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Most visitors to Lombok never find Gili Asahan. It sits off the southwest coast near Sekotong, part of the same broader Gili archipelago but entirely removed from the tourist trail. There are no motor vehicles, no crowds and no noise beyond the reef. The coral gardens begin just off the beach and the clarity of the water here is exceptional. Harper's Bazaar UK once named the beach among the top ten in the world. A team favourite and a place whose imagery speaks more powerfully than any description. If you are looking for the Lombok that existed before everyone arrived, Gili Asahan is one of the last places where you can still find it.

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• Coral gardens directly off the beach, among the best snorkelling in the Lombok region

• No motor vehicles, no crowds, one of the most genuinely remote island experiences in Indonesia

• Gili Asahan Eco Lodge, 9.6 on Booking.com from over 400 reviews, Italian-influenced restaurant on site

• Pearl Beach Resort, thatched bungalows and hammocks on a beachfront most visitors never find

• Beach named among the top ten in the world by Harper's Bazaar UK

• A team favourite, the imagery we brought back says everything the words cannot